Silke Jasso
It’s a hatching 18 years in the making.
Videos by Rare
RELATED: It’s a pink fest at this lake, and more than one million flamingos are invited
No one knows why it finally happened, but the Sacramento Zoo is celebrating the arrival of five baby flamingo chicks, the first of the long-legged breed to hatch at the zoo in 18 years.
The eggs were successfully hatched between June 28 and July 18 and were assisted by artificial incubation.
Experts on the bird say that they are finicky creatures who “prefer conditions to be just so,” said Tonja Candelaria, the zoo’s spokeswoman.
“Due to that, it could be a variety of factors that caused the gap and then sudden laying of eggs this season,” Candelaria said. “They may prefer the weather pattern we have had recently, it could be changes keepers have made to the lake, such as moving a plant from one location to another, or the current cleaning schedule, recent zoo renovations, or even all those things.”
The chicks are now being taken care of around-the-clock, with feedings, health checkups, growth monitoring and daily walks imperative to strengthen their spindly legs.
RELATED: This flamingo has happy feet — and we can’t get enough of its moves
And, once they are large enough, the chicks will take their place among the flock at the zoo lake. The lake is home to 36 adult American flamingos, also known as Caribbean flamingos.
